City council is being asked to stop allowing non-Toronto residents to collect rebates on campaign donations

Motorists drive by a jumble of campaign posters in Whitby. Toronto city councillor Joe Mihevc has drafted a motion to ensure that campaign donation rebates for municipal elections go to Toronto residents, not people who live in other parts of the GTA.

Generous campaign donation rebates should only go to Toronto residents and property owners not people living outside the city, say two councillors.

“It’s really not fair for Toronto taxpayers, who are paying for the rebate, to be subsidizing candidates whose support is outside Toronto,” says Councillor Joe Mihevc, who has drafted a motion for council to consider at next week’s meeting. Councillor Paul Ainslie has seconded the motion.

The practice seems also “to undermine the goal of local democratic participation, while in fact transferring tax dollars out of the City of Toronto to residents in neighbouring municipalities,” the motion says.

Those who don’t reside in Toronto, but own properties here, should, however, continue to qualify for the rebate, Mihevc said Friday. “That’s fine, because then they are eligible electors.”

Mihevc’s motion calls for the change to go into effect for the 2018 municipal election.

Under the Municipal Elections Act, the city of Toronto has offered a Contribution Rebate Program in each election and byelection since 1997. In 2010, the program provided $4.3 million in rebates to contributors. It is estimated the program will cost $4.8 million in 2014.

Most Ontario municipalities provide no rebate at all for municipal election contributions.

There’s no rebate for a donation of less than $25; contributions between $25 and $300 are eligible for a 75 per cent refund. The maximum donation of $2,500 to a mayoral candidate can generate a rebate of about 43 per cent.

A third of Mayor Rob Ford’s total donations in the 2010 race, $623,000, came from out-of-town contributors, according to social geographer Trevor McKenzie-Smith, who has charted the origin of Ford’s campaign funding.

The motion, which refers only to a nameless candidate raising more than $600,000 outside Toronto, says it’s likely many of those donors did not pay property taxes in the city.

Also on next week’s city council agenda is a motion asking the city manager to ensure any future decommissioned City of Toronto signs only be signed with the city manager’s approval.

The motion notes Mayor Rob Ford has already “autographed” some of the signs.

“Many enthusiasts would prefer not to purchase a sign that is signed by anyone, as it defaces the sign and reduces its value,” says the motion sponsored by Councillor Paula Fletcher.

If a resident wants it autographed, they can ask the individual directly, the motion says.

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